Buying Advice looking at Kubota project 6950 for $9900? Or should I go new(er) ...

[africa932003]

hi all,
After years of bouncing between developing world trouble spots, I am back in Canada, with a new life, a young family, trying to get my hands dirty and return to my farming roots. I'm strongly considering a 60+ hp kubota as my first tractor, both b/c of the good name, and there's a dealer with a well liked mechanic less than 15 mins from our farm gate.
I'd rather go used, for budget reasons mainly -- and so I can pick up some other equipment including old mower, baler, post driver (to begin with) -- but good used Kubotas are hard to find around here. Everyone hangs onto theirs unless there's problems with their unit. I've been looking for over a year. Ready to pull the trigger soon ...
Which brings me to my question for the many of you out there who are wiser and wilier than me:
A 6950 has turned up at a local dealer (not the Kubota dealer, unfortunately). It has 12,000 hours and the dealer says:
"M6950, 65 pto , cab, rebuilt injection pump, good runner needs some work, bale spear included and new bucket , 12000 hours , 9900.00" (prices in Canadian dollars, which is about 88 cents to the U.S. greenback right now).
Am I crazy to consider getting myself into this? Is the price too high for a project tractor with that kind of hours? Keep in mind my mechanical know-how doesn't go far beyond changing tires and oil and filters (which I used to do on my dad's old John Deere 2020 as a kid).
Or should a newbie like me suck it up, go into debt for a new(ish) tractor that might save me maintenance and repair headaches? I have to admit that the new emissions technology makes me feel a bit squirrelly. Part of me would like to wait for it to work itself out for a few years before I jump into a 7060 in year one.
Looking forward to hearing from you all...

 

[Tx Jim]

According to Tractordata M6950's were built from '83-'93. 12,000 hrs is a lot of hours use on any brand tractor. Repair parts are expensive not matter what color they are. I suppose intending purchase would depend on what repairs the tractor needed.

 

[Gary Fowler]

That price seems high even in Canadian loonies for a 20-30 year old 65 HP tractor if it was in good shape which this one needs additional work. 12K hours is approaching overhaul time for just about any tractor. I would keep looking and not limit myself to just Kubota but limit to about 5000-7000 hours on used.
You can get some pretty good deals on new tractors now. Most come with 0% financing which includes implements bought at the time of purchase. Check them out before you decide to buy a clunker.

 

[big bubba]

i'm w/gary fowler. there's no telling what might go south on a 12k hr tractor like that even in the near future. in this case i think patience will yield a much better deal. smart move posting on this forum good luck on your new journey

 

[wmonroe]

I would pass on a 12,000 hour machine as your primary tractor. Keep looking and you will find one with a lot less hours for close to the same price.

 

[africa932003]

Thanks for the sound advice all. This is why I posted to this forum.
One of my issues is that the low number of used tractors that I can get service for within a 30 mile radius (the dealer I referred to services Kubota, Case and IH). And prices are high. I've been toying with the idea of a new(er) 7040 -- I found a 7040 with a cab about 300 miles away that is 5 years old, 400 hours, with two remotes, soft ride on the loader, and the asking price is $45,000 Canadian. I went down last week, gave it a test ride and it seemed alright, though the brakes went all the way to the floor, the glow plugs didn't work and the loader joystick pushed sideways against low-high adjustment lever (seemed like an odd design flaw for Kubota). The dealer is going to do some investigation into the problems I found and get back to me on Monday. But it's a long way to go back to him if there are more problems down the road.
All good. I'm having fun looking.

 

[Tx Jim]

A 5 yr old M7040 with weak brakes @ $45,000(Canadian) sounds high to me. Last year I bought a 2 yr old M7040 cab/hyd shuttle,loader,2 remotes,cast rear wheels, with 137 hrs for less than $40,000

 

[africa932003]

A 5 yr old M7040 with weak brakes @ $45,000(Canadian) sounds high to me. Last year I bought a 2 yr old M7040 cab/hyd shuttle,loader,2 remotes,cast rear wheels, with 137 hrs for less than $40,000

Yup. For one reason or another, our prices just don't seem to compete with U.S. prices. So for those of you looking to sell your used tractor, perhaps consider sending it up north to Canada ...

 

[big bubba]

that's very high. being up north, assume a cab is a must? if not, more value into the more spartan open station? think you're on the right track. don't go lower than M7040 in model, but the M6800 is a great tractor as well ..... patience good fella! :thumbsup:

 

[africa932003]

that's very high. being up north, assume a cab is a must? if not, more value into the more spartan open station? think you're on the right track. don't go lower than M7040 in model, but the M6800 is a great tractor as well ..... patience good fella! :thumbsup:

Thanks big bubba. I've never actually driven a cab tractor and had always assumed I'd get an open station ... until this past winter. We've had snow on the ground since November 5 (still two feet of the white stuff) and it's been -15 C or colder more days than not. It's the winter that God forgot about us ... maybe I'm just getting weak in my old age. But I'm looking at cabs now, more than open stations, although there's still an m7040 open station sitting at a dealer near here for $37 k. I sure like the fact that it doesn't have the Tier 4 emissions stuff. It's a nice tractor, even has a block heater. But I'd need another block heater in my overalls ...